Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival

A three-day Nordic heritage festival held at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds east of Astoria on Oregon's North Coast, celebrating the Scandinavian culture brought to the region by Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish immigrants. More than a dozen Nordic musical, dance and theater groups perform, while retail booths sell handcrafts, Nordic import goods and traditional foods. Programming includes a Queen's Coronation, a bonfire with hex burning, public dances, the Troll Run, a costumed walking parade, flag raising and dancing around the Midsummer Pole, a beer garden, a Viking encampment with near-hourly demonstrations, Icelandic horses, children's games at Barnefest, breakfasts and closing ceremonies.